Lord of the Rings Rights Bought by Embracer
Jed | Hollywood Scholar | Aug 19, 2022 |
In a surprise move, the Swedish gaming company Embracer has swooped in out of nowhere to purchase the merchandising, film, theme park, and gaming rights to the Middle Earth legendarium. This includes the primary rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and “matching rights” to The Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales, which were published after J. R. R. Tolkien’s death. These rights were sold by the Saul Zaentz Company, who have been the stewards of Tolkien’s work since 1976. Marty Glick, COO of The Saul Zaentz Company, had this to say about the sale:
“We at the Zaentz Company have had the honor over the past half century of stewarding the Tolkien rights so that ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hobbit’ fans worldwide could enjoy award winning epic films, challenging video games, first rate theatre and merchandise of every variety. We could not be more thrilled that it is Embracer now taking up the responsibility and we are confident their group will take it to new heights and dimensions while maintaining homage to the spirit of these great literary works.”
It is unclear what effect this sale will have upon Warner Bros.’ upcoming War of the Rohirrim anime, Amazon Primes’ Rings of Power, or the multiple video games currently in production. Considering how past deals such as this have been conducted, it is likely that these other projects are safe, with the respective studios maintaining their access to the rights for the time being. When their contracts expire, the rights will merely revert to Embracer rather than the Saul Zaentz Company, or new agreements with Embracer will need to be negotiated.
Speculation must surely abound considering this surprise acquisition, as Embracer has recently made many such purchases. This past year, Embracer has acquired Dark Horse Comics, Square Enix, and now The Lord of the Rings. These are several more acquisitions than are customary for a company of Embracer’s size. What daring and impressive schemes is Embracer planning? With the rights to these many companies and franchises, plus the successful video games they previously owned, Embracer has rapidly cemented itself as a juggernaut in the entertainment industry. The primary public statement from Embracer following this most recent acquisition came from the CEO Lars Wingefors, who said:
“I am truly excited to have ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit,’ one of the world’s most epic fantasy franchises join the Embracer family, opening up more transmedia opportunities including synergies across our global group. I am thrilled to see what lies in the future for this IP with Freemode and Asmodee as a start within the group. Going forward, we also look forward to collaborating with both existing and new external licensees of our increasingly stronger IP portfolio.”
For the most part, fans of Tolkien’s universe genuinely have no idea what to think about this acquisition. When it was announced back in February that the rights were for sale, the immediate fear was that Amazon would jump at the opportunity to fully cement its hold over it. That did not come to pass, and as such, a welcome sigh of relief washed through the fanbase. However, Embracer has still come under scrutiny and been mired in controversy, specifically with their Saints Row reboot, making it unlikely that they will be any better stewards of this universe than Amazon.
Nearly any studio would be better than Amazon, but only marginally. In recent years, it seems impossible to imagine any major studio or company honoring and respecting the franchises they steward. Therefore, fans are more than justified in any reservations or skepticism about Embracer. With this sale, there really was no winning for fans. As a result, this news will most likely come across as neutral information. So little hope exists in the current entertainment landscape, and this acquisition is unlikely to inspire any amongst Tolkien fans. Only time will tell if it will spell reclamation for the franchise or signal further doom. All fans can do is wait to see what overarching plan Embracer has going forward.
Comments (1)
Seems like Valheim is the only decent game this company has come out with for awhile. Others they’ve put out have been… not fantastic. Not a lot of hope for this or the other new purchases that they’ve made this past few years. They’re likely as woke as the others and will continue to ruin games and movies alike.